Arlington Insider

International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame
621 Six Flags Drive (two blocks south of I-30)
Hours: Tues-Sat 9:30am-5pm (closed Sun & Mon)
Admission: $9.50 adults, $7.50 students ages 5-19
(817) 649-5105
www.bowlingmuseum.com

Arlington is now the Mecca of bowling thanks to the grand opening of the new International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame in the heart of Arlington’s Entertainment District. The 100,000 square foot International Bowling Campus includes: a kid-friendly hall of fame & museum; a state-of-the-art training and research facility; and the headquarters for the sport’s governing bodies.

As the #1 participatory sport in the United States, an estimated 67,136,000 Americans bowl at least once a year. That’s way ahead of #2 (fishing, 58.49 million) and #3 (jogging/running, 50.02 million). The sport is also big business. Bowling is a $10 billion industry.

Whether you bowl weekly in a league or once every blue moon, the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame invites you to unearth the sports history, then unleash its future. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9:30am-5pm (closed Sundays & Mondays). The price is $9.50 for adults, $7.50 for students ages 5-19.

The state-of-the-art museum is interactive and allows you to journey back to where bowling began (ancient Egypt). Exhibits include the USBC’s Hall of Fame, a movie theatre, a replica of pre-turn of the century bowling lanes (including pin boys), a look at a 1950’s diner; a look into Joe Thum’s White Elephant where bowling first came to America; and a history timeline of bowling’s journey from Egypt to British monarchs to German immigrants coming to American Shores.

But the campus is not just about the past, it’s about the future. The museum includes “The Future: Comoputerized Coaching, Robotic Simulation and Bowlopolis”. This is the future of the sport.

Next door to the museum is bowling’s International Training & Research Center (IRTC) which includes 14 dedicated training lanes, biomechanical motion tracking, DigiTrax technology, robotics and foot & grip pressure mapping.

Be sure to visit the new Spare Partz gift shop which includes everything from caps & shirts to customized bowling balls. The gift shop is located within the museum.

The museum is also available for group tours, field trips, birthday parties, corporate events, and reserved meeting rooms. Call (817) 649-5105 to ask about special events or parties or group tours. You can also e-mail info@bowlingmuseum.com.

Located in Arlington’s Entertainment District, the International Bowling Campus’s address is 621 Six Flags Drive, two blocks south of I-30 (and just one block south of the entrance to Six Flags theme park).